Harry Otter

Moonbeam

1/18/2026 8:14pm

Luckily Big Bulldog had gum.

“I like to be prepared for any eventuality,” Big Bulldog said.

“Including adjusting to remember differences in air pressure,” I said.

“Standard airshipman’s supply,” said Big Bulldog.

My ears popped.

“Must be driving real deep,” said Big Bulldog. “All the way to the bottom of the sea, I reckon….”

“And what are we inside of?” I asked.

“Something like a giant turtle, seems to me,” said Big Bulldog. “Something with a hard shell and soft insides. Can close itself off on the inside.”

“Where it’s got air and a little warmth and there’s a kind of glow in account of the bioluminescent algae stuck to the insides?” I asked.”

“Something like that,” said Big Bulldog.

Moonbeam

5/30/2025 8:08pm

"Soft and squishy, ain't it?"

It was Big Bulldog, pointing his own flashlight my way.

"And the air's a bit fetid," I said, picking myself up and dusting myself off.

Big Bulldog took a big snort through his snout.

"Ahhhhh..." he breathed out. "It's that fishy smell I like. But industrial strength!"

It smelled even more like the reptile house at the zoo

"Sealed off all the airways, I reckon," said Big Bulldog. "Ready to go for a little ride? Hope you brought your chewing gum!"


Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.

Moonbeam

10/9/2024 10:38pm

"Hulloooooooo!" I called into the tunnel. Just a thin split between stony scrags.

The cave was mighty musty. Smelled like the reptile house at the zoo.

"Big Bulldog! Are you alright?"

I pulled a flashlight from my utility belt and stepped inside.

"Hellooooooo?"

And immediately fell, tumbling, as the ground shuddered beneath my feet.


This is Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.

Moonbeam

2/27/2024 11:42pm

Spaz took The Therianthrope for a trip around the island to look for Big Bulldog.

I had a bad feeling about it. I hadn't known the big weredog for that long, but the one thing that was clear was that he was a leader. He wouldn't just wander off and abandon his mission -- the emancipation of shapeshifting people of every... shape. He had a clear sense of purpose, and wouldn't just--

"Captain?" asked one of the rats. They had been learning to mimic our speech. I hadn't been called captain before.

"Some of the Mischief found a tunnel," it said. "Smells of bulldog there."

"Take me to it," I said.

Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.

Moonbeam

7/26/2023 11:31pm

The rats scampered across the verdant, flower covered hills.

"Happy to be on dry land again," I said.

"And thirsty as all get out," Big Bulldog said.

The Therianthrope was mooring next to the Moonbeam back near the shoreline. Blue sky with some clouds and cool ocean breezes.

"Squeeeeee!!!" squealed a group of rats in a copse of trees in the distance. All the other rats raced towards it.

"Found a spring," Big Bulldog said. "I could smell it from here."

With a source for freshwater, and all the fish we'd caught along the way (much of it drying in the Moonbeam's rigging) we were set to continue our search for the Mermaid Imperium. Equally lucky, there was no sign of our pursuers on the horizon.

"Still smelling that Mermaid Imperium on the breeze?" I asked. I was sure Big Bulldog couldn't really smell it.

"Yes, but..." he snorfled through is big wet snout and raised the folds over his right eye, "there's another scent. Big and musky. Can't see how I missed it before..."

The island shook with a small shudder under our feet. Great. It was geologically unstable.

"Time to get the casks down and start rolling them over to the spring," I said. "Maybe you could get some rats to help?"

Big Bulldog just stood there, snorfling at the air, his nose and saliva running.


This is Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.

Moonbeam

1/3/2023 11:47pm

Nothing but ocean. For days.

"Don't you worry your flappy tail," Big Bulldog said. "I know we're headed in the right direction for the Mermaid Imperium. I can smell 'em!"

We were peering over the bow of the Moonbeam, wind shields open to the bridge.

"I think that's just how the ocean smells," I said. "You know? Salt, seaweed, fish..."

"You don't have quite the acute olfactory powers as Big Bulldog," Big Bulldog said, tapping his snout with a dewclaw and squeezing a wink out of the rest of the folds in his face.

Lord.

Meanwhile, @Spaz Skunk arrived with a new net full of half drowned rats.

"You'd think they'd learn," I said.

"There are fewer and fewer each time. I guess it doesn't hurt we miss a few."

I looked at Spaz in horror.

"Just kidding," Spaz said. "I'm pretty sure we've caught all of them so far. But they're getting smarter, I can feel it."

The rats in the rigging chittered and laughed.

"But, it also means more sardines for all of us!" Spaz added. Each net full of rat crew members that had fallen off the Moonbeam also brought a small load of fish. We were set for food, but the fresh water was getting low. And I didn't think that would would be something mermaids would necessarily have in abundance.

"Hey," Spaz added. "So we got a name for the ship. The Therianthrope. Pretty on the nose, don't you think?"

If only I knew what that meant.

"Sure," I answered. "So, now that you've got your own name, maybe you could get your own ship's log too?"

Spaz said he'd think about it.


Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.

Moonbeam

7/29/2022 7:38am

"A mermaid imperium?" Spaz Skunk asked.

"Yeah, I know," I said. "But the big bulldog-headed guy is real set on it. It's the only reason he set me free."

"We do need somewhere to go, and in a hurry. I've got trouble on my tail too."

The ship Spaz Skunk arrived in looked like a floating palace from the Arabian nights. Or an old movie theater in the Thief of Baghdad style. And there were pieces of wood and plaster dangling off it.

"Well it does look stolen," I said. "Do you have a name for it?"

"A name? Not yet. Been in too much of rush, I guess. Speaking of which, we do need to get going as soon as possible."

"But what about @Captain Jack Fenris?" I asked. "And @Strange Katz? They've got to be around here somewhere. We can't just leave them."

"I don't think we have a choice," Spaz said, looking at the horizon to the east. "I guess they've got till we get unmoored and airborne. We can always come back later."

Spaz Skunk wasn't fooling around.

"Alright!" I called to the rats. "Get ready to cast off!"

Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.

Moonbeam

2/20/2022 10:01pm

I didn't know a thing about finding mermaids. Much less an entire mermaid empire. But there was one simple thing that had to be true.

"To the sea!" I cried, and Big Bulldog barked a laugh and pounded his paw on the counter, and the little big eyed tarsiers chittered in approval, and there were some smaller, squirrel-like creatures doing cartwheels.

"To the sea!" Big Bulldog cried and pounded his paw one more time and stood and led us all out of his tiny shop and around the corner to a great, wide well, with stairs built into the curve of the wall.

"To the sea!" Big Bulldog cried again, and the herd of tiny pseudo-bipedal mammals began to leap off the walls of the well and deep into its depths, accompanied by tiny splashes.

"The Rats will see us there on their ships! With you at the wheel and me at your side, we will find the Mermaid Imperium and be free!"

And with a broad slap on the back, he hurled me into the well.


This is Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.

Moonbeam

11/1/2021 10:39pm

"You're one of those fishy ones, ain't cha?"

It was the biggest bulldog-headed man I'd ever seen, standing behind the counter in his decrepit wooden shop.

"Fishy, uh, no sir. I mean, I like fish, and shellfish, but I haven't really eaten any seafood for quite some time. And how do you know my language?"

"ENOUGH!" Big Bulldog replied, smashing his big paw on the counter. "I mean you're one of those changeroos, a shifter, like me!"

Big Bulldog scrunched his face and looked like he was trying to force out a big poop. Suddenly his features morphed, and instead of the biggest bulldog-headed man I'd ever seen was one of the biggest ugliest men I'd ever seen.

"Change! Change back! I can't take it!!!!" I cried.

Big Bulldog changed back into his previous form.

"Well, in my defense, I've never heard it called 'fishy' before," I said.

"ENOUGH!" Big Bulldog hollered again, and slammed his big paw on the counter. Didn't he have another 'signature move' or was this it? "There's scarce few of us left here, on the land, hunted and captured for HER entertainment. But we've heard of others, from far away. Our ancient cousins, who left the land to escape the tyranny of these dust dwelling devils. The ones that took to the seas."

"You mean, people like... us... who can change form from human to animal, but change into fish?"

"EXACTLY!" Big Bulldog yelled, slamming his big paw on the counter.

"So, like, fish wearing clothes, and riding bicycles and going to shops?"

"EXACT-- well, I suppose it wouldn't make much sense for them to be wearing clothes, underwater would it?" Big Bulldog asked.

"It does sound like it would weigh them down. Certainly make them more vulnerable to predators."

"Well, still, there is a land for people like us, but underwater."

"Really?"

"Yes," Big Bulldog replied. "It's called the Mermaid Imperium. And you're going to help us find it."


Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.

Moonbeam

8/2/2021 11:07pm

The cute little big eyed tarsier pressed the knife harder into my shin.

"Okay! Okay little fella, you just hold on there..."

He gave it a poke and I leaped back on one foot, into an alley.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

The tarsier leapt on its hind legs and followed me, brandishing the knife.

What kind of world was it where such wild beasts roamed? Not only was this one armed, but mute as well. In another world--my world--we could have been fast friends, or at least had a discussion. I could tell that this creature was of the non-speaking, unintelligent variety. Because it wore no clothes--a savage. What world breed such silent, vicious, furry creatures?

At the end of the alley was a ramshackle door with a sign above it. ᏗᎦᏗᏕᎴᏗᏕ it read. No idea what it meant.

"Ow!!! Ok! Ok already..."

Apparently the tarsier and I had business inside.



This is Communications Lt. Officer First Class Harry Otter, reporting.